Morning Market Roundup: Italy’s Slowdown, Swiss Freeze Iran, U.S. Futures Lower

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

EU: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti‘s government is meeting to discuss a draft document that shows Italy’s economy is slowing down more than previously forecast.

The document projects Italy’s economy will shrink this year by 1.2 percent, up from previous projections of a 0.4 percent contraction.

The Economic and Financial Document also says that public debt will rise from nearly 120 percent of GDP in 2011 to 123.4 percent this year. The Cabinet is expected to approve the document on Wednesday.

The document also says that the state budget won’t be balanced until at least 2015 – two years later than was pledged by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi last summer.

The International Monetary Fund’s prognosis is even gloomier – it predicts the Italian budget won’t be balanced until at least 2018.

Oil: Oil prices hovered above $104 a barrel Wednesday after a report showed U.S. crude supplies jumped more than expected for a fourth week, suggesting demand remains weak.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 10 cents to $104.10 a barrel by early afternoon European time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.27 to settle at $104.20 in New York on Tuesday.

Iran vs. the Swiss: The Swiss government has extended its financial sanctions against Iran by freezing the assets of 11 more companies and people but decided not to take any action against Tehran’s central bank, officials said Wednesday.

The action against an additional eight companies and three individuals was carried out Tuesday and “brings Switzerland largely in line with the restrictive measures” the European Union adopted in January, the Swiss Cabinet said. The move aims to pressure Iran to comply with U.N. demands over its controversial nuclear program.

But an exception to the EU’s measures “was made for the Iranian Central Bank, upon which sanctions have not be imposed, due to its importance for the Iranian economy,” the Swiss government said.

It did not identify the targeted companies and individuals.

U.S. Futures: Stock futures are heading lower and investors appear to be taking a breather after entering the market in force on strong U.S. corporate earnings earlier in the week.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 30 points to 12,994 and Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures are down 3.1 points at 1,380.5. Nasdaq composite futures are down 3.25 points to 2,709.5.

There are relatively few major earnings being posted and no economic reports from the government ahead of the market opening Wednesday, leaving Wall Street searching for direction at midweek.

Spain again signaled deep-seeded economic strains. The Bank of Spain reported that the total amount of bad loans on the books at the nation’s banks rose to an 18-year high, or 8.15 percent, in February.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.